Covid-19 Lockdown Measures in Greece May Run Through Easter 

Photo source: @Ministry of Health

The number of Covid-19 cases in Greece may be stabilizing, but Greek health experts are considering extending current lockdowns or containment measures through to Easter.

Briefing the press this week ahead of Friday’s weekly Covid-19 response committee meeting, Government Spokesperson Christos Tarantilis confirmed that there were signs of improvement and fewer hospitalizations but added that the evolution of the pandemic in coming days would be the decisive factor for any decision.

However, stressing that Attica intensive care units (ICUs) were currently operating at 85 percent of their total capacity, epidemiologists are expected to request on Friday that restrictions continue through to Easter and may bring to the table the issue of mandatory double mask wearing in public places as well as Covid-19 testing at work spaces.  

Speaking on SKAI television, Maria Tsolia, paediatrics and infectious diseases professor and a member of the country’s Covid-19 committee said lockdown measures can only be lifted when the number of hospitalizations and intubations drop.

According to Tsolias, once lockdown measures are eased, schools will open first together with retail through click away method.

Photo source: National Public Health Organization (EODY)

In the meantime, private hospitals may be called on to support public facilities which have reached their ICU limit, said the head of the Greece’s medical association, Athanasios Exadaktylos, adding that the majority of health experts is calling for the extension of measures beyond February 28.

Besides Attica and the wider Athens area, authorities are concerned about 13 other regions in Greece, including Thessaloniki, Ioannina and the island of Kalymnos, which may see stricter lockdown measures in the coming days.

In the last 24-hour period, Greece recorded 13 Covid-19-related deaths and 755 new cases with 231 in Attica and 125 in Thessaloniki.